Right there in Poway, disguises by the millions

POWAY -- Next week, Halloween revelers and trick-or-treaters
will be wearing 10 million costumes produced this year by the
Poway-based Disguise company, the nation's largest maker of
licensed apparel and accessories depicting movie and television
characters.

Complete get-ups for Austin Powers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Bullwinkle Moose, Tinker Bell and 500 other popular screen
characters, plus traditional haunting standbys, are produced by
Disguise, which posts annual sales of $60 million to $70 million,
said Jeff Coppens, the company's marketing director.

"One of the great things about this company is that we're having
a lot of fun making the product," Coppens said last week. "People
here are wearing the costumes all the time and getting into
character."

He then put on a mask, showing a baffled expression on the face
of a martial arts warrior, and jumped into a karate stance.

The pace has relaxed significantly this month in Disguise's new
250,000-square-foot headquarters, the largest building constructed
in San Diego County last year. The company's production effort
starts rising in January and hits a peak in September, when final
shipments are made to 20,000 retail locations around the country --
including Wal-Mart and Target stores.

Just a year away

Disguise's effort now is pointed at Halloween 2002, when
futuristic superhero Jimmy Neutron is expected to debut with a big
splash. The character will star next year in what is expected to be
a blockbuster children's movie, produced by Nickelodeon.

Disguise also will begin conducting meetings of children's focus
groups to help the company plan its product strategy for Halloween
next year.

"It really helps to give us insights, but we call them
demolition meetings because the kids love to try on all sorts of
costumes," Coppens said.

Most of Disguise's costumes carry a retail price of $10 to $50.
The licensed versions must be approved by the originating film
makers, which judge outfits for quality, accuracy and taste.

Any characters from R-rated movies, even Austin Powers, cannot
be replicated in children's costumes.

Disguise also spurns requests for special costumes of
questionable taste, Coppens said.

"We've had people ask us to make a costume of bin Laden, but we
won't do it," he said, referring to a depiction of the prime
suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. "There are some things
that are more important then something that may get some
sales."

Up, up and away

Coppens said Disguise's sales have increased 50 percent in each
of the three years he has been with the company. He attributed the
sharp rise to the growing popularity of Halloween in general, along
with the rising desire by consumers to wear the company's
apparel-based costumes.

"Basically, Disguise revolutionized Halloween costume
manufacturing," Coppens said. "Cheap vinyl is what had been used in
most costumes. Disguise went the direction of using better fabrics
and better design that accurately represents the characters being
reproduced."

To broaden selection for adults beyond depictions of well-known
characters, Disguise produces a line of costumes that have a formal
appearance, Coppens said. The long black, netted dresses named
Widows Web and Spiderella are prime examples.

But in the past two years, Halloween costumes of Pokemon
characters for children have been the company's biggest sellers,
with more than 2 million get-ups of Lapras, Lugia and Zapdos being
shipped to retailers during that time.

"This year is a little different in that there is no must-have
costume, so people are going more with tradition," Coppens said.
"There is a strong demand for Spider Man, who has been one of the
most popular for 15 years, the Power Rangers, which still are doing
well after 10 years, and the Disney princesses, which have been
around for 50 years."

Disguise was founded in San Diego in 1987 and was sold 10 years
later to Group Cesar, a French company that is the world's largest
costume producer.

In January, Disguise, which has 125 full-time employees moved
operations from four buildings in Chula Vista and Mira Mesa to its
new $12 million headquarters building in the Scripps Poway Business
Park. The company, however, continues contracting out all sewing
work to plants in Mexico.

Garments and related accessories for complete costumes are
inspected and packaged at the headquarters building, where more
than 600 temporary workers are employed during peak shipping
periods.

Coppens said Disguise focuses on costume safety and has earned a
high rating in that aspect from Good Housekeeping magazine. All
costumes are fire resistant, but that doesn't mean they cannot burn
with prolonged exposure to flame, he said.

"People still need to be careful with children's activities in
costumes because there are a lot of lighted candles around on
Halloween," Coppens warned.